


Something New

by Thebiwife



Series: Something... [2]
Category: ER (TV 1994)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Long-Distance Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebiwife/pseuds/Thebiwife
Summary: Spoilers for s3Inspired by the ‘Something Old / Something New / Something Borrowed / Something Blue” wedding tradition.Takes place after Susan has left Chicago.
Relationships: Susan Lewis/Kerry Weaver
Series: Something... [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937212
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey Jerry,” a familiar soft yet husky voice near sang down the phone. “How are you doing?”

“I'm good,” he said, cautiously, not quite able to place the voice. “How are...you?”

“I’’m great, thanks. Is Morgenstern around?”

“He’s on sick leave, if you like I can patch you through to Dr Weaver..?”

“Kerry? Well...ok, I guess?”  
  


* * *

  
Kerry pondered over her new title, _ Acting Chief of Emergency Services _ . If she had the budget she would get it engraved on a nameplate for Morgenstern’s office door. Temporarily of course.

As the phone on Dr Morgensterm’s her desk began to ring, the various ways she could answer the phone flashed through Kerry’s mind. As happy as she was with the promotion (albeit temporary) it may be a bit much to answer the phone as ER Chief.

“Dr. Weaver,” Kerry said in monotone as she picked up the receiver - better to be safe, she assumed.

“Kerry, hi, it’s Susan Lewis.”

“Oh, Susan, hi...to what do I owe the pleasure?” Kerry attempted to sound genuine in her response to her former colleague, although it was hardly going to come across as sincere when the two of them had butted heads several times over the fifteen months or so they had worked together. 

“I was hoping to speak to Morgenstern…”

“Yes, unfortunately he’s going to be off for some time, can I help you with something?”

“I hope you can. I’m only working part-time at the ER down here in Phoenix, you know to help with looking after Little Susie...but I’ve offered to volunteer at an outreach clinic with migrants coming from the border, they are asking for a reference and for a copy of my manuscript. Would you be able to fax that over for me?”

“Sure, that sounds like a  _ great _ use of your time.” 

Susan wasn’t sure if this was a sincere comment or not from the other end of the phone.

“Are you going to give me the details?”

“Oh yeah, sure, I’ll fax all the information through to Jerry.”

“Ok sure.”

“Well, thanks again…”

“Susan...I really hope things go well for you down there.”

“Thanks Kerry.”

“Ok, well, we’ll speak soon. Bye.”

* * *

_ We’ll speak soon? _ Susan thought to herself.

Not once could she recall having a conversation with Kerry, outside of her working remit, that had ended so amicably; even the work-related interactions were rarely positive.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hi, can I speak to Susan Lewis please?”

“One moment please…” the operator began to connect Kerry’s call, before clicking back onto the lie. “Can I ask for your reason for calling?”

“Oh, I’m her former employer. Just following up on a request for a reference?”

“Ok, we can connect you directly with Personnel?”

“No, Dr. Lewis will be fine, thank you.”

The operator sighed and reconnected her to what was assumedly Susan’s office.

“Hi Kerry,” Susan said, a tone of what could either be tedium or mischief in her voice. “What on Earth are you calling me for?”

“I just thought..I’d follow through on the reference? Was it received ok?”

“I assume so,” Susan said, beginning to relax a little on her end of the phone. “They haven’t said there were any issues.”

“Ok, good.”

“You’re calling me on a Thursday evening at work, Kerry. What’s up? That doesn’t sound like the ER...are you calling me from home?”

“Right, yeah. I’m just catching up on a few things, it’s been so busy and I just wanted to make sure I could cross this off my to-do list.”

“Well, you feel free to do that.”

There was an awkward pause as Kerry indeed put a line through a line of her handwriting in her notebook, although it read ‘ _ call Susan in Scottsdale.’ _

“How are things up there, anyway? Is my replacement any good?”

Kerry laughed softly. “Well, we didn’t replace you, per se, we have a new paeds resident wanting to double-board with Emergency Medicine doing her internship with Doug.”

“Wow, you do love an overachiever. Is she nice?”

“She seems so, I haven’t got to know her too well.”

“I suppose that isn’t your strong point, is it Kerry?”

“No, I suppose it’s not.” Even though Susan couldn't see her, Kerry still responded the way she always had, looking down at her feet whenever she had been (correctly) called out on something.

“So..." Susan bridged the silence. "What’s her name?”

“Anna del Amico. She's from Philly, I believe.”

“Is she pretty? Blonde?”

Kerry laughed. “Well yes, she is blonde, actually. Why are you asking me that?”

“She sounds like Carter's type. And well, it would just be  _ nice _ to know if my presence is missed in more ways than one…or if just _every_ blonde in a lab coat is cut from the same cookie cutter.”

“Well... _yes_ , I suppose she is pretty. She’s probably the prettiest in the ER…"

“Now that I’ve gone...

“You would say that.”

“Well either way, it’s not true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kerry, you’re clearly the most beautiful woman in the whole damn hospital.”

“Well  _ that’s  _ just not true.”

“Why? Just because  _ Doug  _ and  _ Mark  _ and  _ Carter  _ can’t see it, it doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

Kerry felt herself flush red as the chasm of silence between them grew.

“Right, well, lovely as it was to catch up, I have an early start. If you want to get more out of me than that you’ll have to catch me another time. Bye!”

“I will Susan, goodnight.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I...think I might be gay.”

Susan laughed back down the phone.

“Susan...I’m not joking.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It just...took me by surprise.”

“Well I just figured...since you told me last week about you and…you were seeing a woman, right?”

“Her name was Lisa. And we’re not together anymore, just FYI.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that…”

“It’s ok, we were just dating, she and I never _slept together_ or anything...like that. Still straight as an edge when it comes to the bedroom department, I won’t be needing that spirit level.”

Kerry hesitated at the other end of the phone, as she was known to when Susan made one of her terrible jokes, until enough time had passed she could get back to normal conversation.

“There’s a new psych attending, her name’s Kim. She and I _were_ friends, good friends...then it turns out she thought we were _more than friends_. And I kinda freaked.”

“Right. But do you think you like her?”

“I suppose...I mean, she’s really friendly and pretty...and she does make me blush…”

“Kerry Weaver, do you have a crush?” Susan bit her lip in excitement.

“I suppose I do...”

“Oh, honey, aren’t you all grown up.”

“Susan…”

“You can’t use that boss voice on me anymore Ker, we’ve been friends longer than you were ever my supervisor.”

“Depends on your definition of friends.”

“Harsh, lady. Well, evidently friends enough for you to decide to tell me you think you might be gay when I spent the last fifteen minutes merely filling you in on the best fried chicken joints in Scottsdale.”

Kerry couldn’t help but smile, which Susan could tell from the soft exhalation she heard in her receiver. “So what do I do, Susan?”

“Well, if I were a woman who’s only ever really been with men but is questioning her sexuality, I would say...go for it. See her again. Take her out for fried chicken.”

“You think so?”

“Sure. She’s probably been where you have…Either way, if she acted like she just wanted to get to know you and spend time with you, and not like you’re some kind of Queer Eye for the Straight Girl project, then yeah. See where it goes. Watch how she licks her fingers..”

Kerry chose to ignore the last comment. “Where did things go for you?”

“Well, we had a few dates, ate some fried chicken, licked some fingers and kissed a couple of times. There was something strange going on with Lisa though, she seemed a little _too keen_ on telling me about her conquests. Like I get it, you’re gay, that’s why I, a woman, am here dating you. It was as though she had some bizarre point to prove.”

“And you don’t have a point to prove?”

“Me? No! Of course not. I’m merely...exploring my options. I’ve always found women attractive, I’ve just never found myself in a situation where a relationship could happen with one.”

“That’s like, the opposite of me...with men. Daniel..Mlungisi...they always made the first move. I just went along with it, like I was in my default setting.”

Susan understood. The _default setting_ analogy was something she most definitely understood, and frankly, when you have been in one place for so long it’s no surprise that you struggle to find your best mode of employment. Without having left Chicago and pressed reset, she herself would no doubt find herself in the same situation as Kerry.

“This has been really useful, Susan. Thankyou.”

“Don’t thank me. Buy me gifts. I like tequila.”

“Maybe I’ll treat you for your birthday.”

“If you’re really treating me, maybe you should grace me with a visit.”

“You want me to visit you? Really?”

“Sure, I mean, we’re friends, friends visit friends, don’t they?”

“Ok, sure. Let me know your shifts around your birthday and I‘ll see what I can do,” Kerry said.

She flipped over her calendar to November and smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

“I don’t mind getting a hotel, Susan,” Kerry said, as Susan moved things from her room to make it comfortable for Kerry. 

“It’s fine, I have a spare. I just want my guest to feel welcome.”

“Well, I feel very welcome Susan,” Kerry smiled, “thank-you. And happy birthday,” she held out a pristinely wrapped package to her.

Susan held the long cardboard box with a heavy-ish object inside, probably about the weight of... _a liquor bottle?_ Trying not to shake it too vigorously to guess what was inside, how she and Chloe did as kids.

“...It’s not tequila. I thought I’d best get your expectations in line just in case you are disappointed.”

Susan opened the present, which was _not_ what she expected, to say the least. It was a ceramic vase, painted gold, in the shape of the female form.

“Wow, Kerry, it’s beautiful,” Susan smiled, looking up to meet Kerry's eyes before bursting out laughing. "Did you go this red when you bought it?"

“No,” Kerry blushed.

"Well, thankyou, I love it. And if it's supposed to be my shape, I'm _flattered_ to say the least."

“You’re welcome. It was worth it just to see that smile,” Kerry said. She composed herself by taking off and wiping her glasses.

Susan’s eyes widened at the comment.  
  


* * *

  
She felt slightly strange as she showed Kerry her room and watched Kerry make herself comfortable, leaving her crutch by the door, not something Susan had ever seen before, and sitting in what Susan would have deemed a near impossible cross-legged position on the bed.

“So what’s your plan for your birthday _eve_ then?”

“Tonight? Just hangout with you. I went for dinner with my family last night so I’d be free for you being here with me this weekend.”

“That’s kind of you. So what do you want to do? What does Phoenix have to offer?”

“I can’t say I can tell you. This is Scottsdale, I only go into Phoenix for work. There are a few touristy things we can look into tomorrow, but for tonight, whatever _you_ want to do.”

Kerry pondered for a second. “Order food in? My treat?"

"Followed by drinks and a movie? I have wine.”

“Sounds perfect.”  
  


* * *

  
Susan knocked at the bedroom door to check Kerry had everything she needed as she let her settle for bed.

“Of course I do,” Kerry smiled, rummaging under the covers for something. “I _do_ have the best host.”

“You’re too kind,” Susan smiled, moving to sit next to Kerry on the bed. She hummed _I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself_ which had been on the movie soundtrack.

“I didn’t have you down as a Burt Bacharach kind of girl,” Kerry said as she lay her head on Susan’s shoulder, the glass of wine (or five) that Kerry had enjoyed with their dinner and a Julia Roberts romcom had started to take their toll, not only on dropping her eyelids but also on loosening her lips. “Susan...Kim and I...it’s over.”

“Oh really?” Susan said, taken aback. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“She wasn’t...we couldn’t find a way to make it work without me coming out to everyone at work, and I couldn’t do that. Not yet.”

“That’s understandable. You only have to do that when you’re ready, Ker,” Susan smiled, squeezing her friend’s hand. As she lay back she felt something hard beneath her on the bed, and rummaged until she found the offending object, her former colleague somewhat unaware what she had noticed. “Kerry, is this what I think it is?” She held up a small, red, plastic and bullet-shaped _vibrator_.

“Um...yes.”

“Did I interrupt something when I came in here?”

“Um...no. I just...I sometimes struggle with getting to sleep, on my bad days, with my hip...I find it helps with the pain.”

“You don’t have _pain relief_?”

“If I need it. I don’t like to over-rely on it though.” Kerry took of her glasses and put them on the nightstand. “You seem shocked.”

“Well, honestly, I didn’t expect you to be into…”

“Into what? Orgasms? Come on Susan I’m human.”

“I know but...Kerry Weaver getting herself off...if you’d told me that five years ago I’d find you in my bed with a vibrator I’d have had an MI.”

Kerry laughed loudly. “You would also have had an MI if you’d heard I’d be travelling halfway across the country to come visit you.”

“True,” Susan smiled, mischievously. “Should I leave you two alone?” She handed Kerry back the bullet vibrator.

“You could stay?” Kerry smiled, taken aback by what, with her blurred vision, she assumed was a look of shock on Susan’s face. “I don’t mean _like that,”_ she laughed, and hit her playfully on the arm. “Just that you will probably be more comfortable sharing with me than...on your own in that closet you call a spare room.”

“What about your...method to get you off. ...Off to sleep, I mean.”

“I’m sure I can manage without. Or you could...massage my hip? That always helps too, much harder to do by myself though.”

“I thought you were going to ask me to do something else,” Susan laughed. 

“Well...I generally don’t have sex with people I’m not...dating at least.”

“Good to know,” Susan smiled. Kerry began to undress in front of her, which Susan found slightly unnerving, so she went to make sure she’d locked up, nipped into the bathroom to grab some lotion, and turned the lights out in the rest of the apartment. As she returned Kerry was laying at the side of the bed in short pyjamas, facing the wall. 

Kerry didn’t need to say anything; Susan had already placed her hands gently where she assumed the pain to be most bothering Kerry and had made a decent guess, rubbing lotion between her hands to warm it up and beginning to massage Kerry’s hip. 

“Is that ok?” Susan whispered. 

Kerry nodded. “Yes, that’s good. You’re really good. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Susan smiled. “I used to do the same for Chloe, when she was pregnant. Plenty of practice.”

“ _That_ was a _long_ time ago,” Kerry smiled, but this was only evidenced to Susan by the small expulsion of air from her nose. “Before I knew you.”

“I know,” Susan smiled, taking her hands from Kerry and rubbing the remnants of lotion into her hands. “Ker, if I were to come back to Chicago…”

“You’re coming back?” Kerry turned as her face lit up.

“Well, I’m _considering_ it...I’d have to find a job. And I’m _not_ asking you to hire me back...I just don’t really know why I should stay here any longer...Chloe’s husband got a job in Jersey, they’re moving East. And since I’m single here…”

“I would love it if you came back.”

“I mean it though, Kerry. I can’t come back to County.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because...there’s this girl who works there...she’d be my supervisor and so if I asked her out it could get awkward.”

Kerry put her hand on Susan’s, stopping it in place before Susan could stand up. “You want to ask me out?”

“Well, _if_ I moved back...there wouldn’t really be any point if I stayed here.”

“Susan....” Kerry turned on her back to face her. “You should have said sooner…”

“What? You _are_ single?”

“Yeah...I just...I had no idea you felt that way.”

“Well...we’ve grown close, haven’t we? With the phone calls and the letters...I get excited every time I hear from you...I’m sad when I check the mailbox and you haven’t written back. You...you’ve almost become my best friend, you know?” 

“You’re my best friend too…” Kerry couldn’t finish her sentence before Susan had turned her face towards her and was kissing her. It felt strange, kissing this woman who she’d felt so strongly for in contrasting ways.

“Although I have to clarify, I said you’re _almost_ my best friend. Mark is my best friend, and he always will be.”

Kerry pulled away smiling, then looking down to her lap. “I don’t know Susan…don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful, and I’m incredibly glad we’ve both been able to confide in each other. _Maybe_ I do want more? It’s just...I broke things off with Kim _very_ recently, I’m not sure if I’m _ready_. For a relationship. After one so intense.”

Susan couldn’t help but smile. “Well, I haven’t actually asked you out yet.”

“Right.”

“And it wasn’t like I was going to ask to move straight in with you or anything, I can wait…find my feet, an apartment, a job...then maybe after things settle we can go out and see how we both feel.”

“Is that ok? I don’t want to keep you waiting for little old me.”

“Nothing between us happens quickly, does it Ker? It took almost three years to become friends. And It's not like you're the _only_ reason I'm considering the move back.”

“I know. It’s kinda nice to think that I might be, though.”

* * *

“Thankyou for having me,” Kerry said, throwing herself into Susan’s arms. “When will I see you next?”

“I’m coming to Chicago in April for the wedding. And then my lease here ends in October, so I’ll be looking for work in Chicago anytime from September onwards.”

“I won’t be there...the wedding I mean. I’m heading to Vegas for a conference.”

“Aw, that’s a shame. It would’ve been nice to see you there.”

“I’m not really invited anyway.”

“Really? Oh I’m sorry Ker.”

“Well I’m hardly in Elizabeth’s good books. Are you heading East for Christmas?”

“I probably will, yeah.”

“I could probably do with visiting New York again sometime soon. Maybe for the New Year? If you happened to be about, that is.”

“I think I might be.”


End file.
